Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...And A Pair Stripper Shoes Too

I promised that while taking a posting vacay the next few months, that I would be out and about trying to have a fantastic summer. If you want to read about wholesome family goodness the Mantuanos have been having, click on over to my family blog. If you want something a little more PG-13 (and are not related to me by blood or marriage - haha) please read on.

My lovely high school buddy Cynthia (in the green dress below) is getting married this summer. Can a get a "holla" for a destination wedding in Hawaii? Thank you, Cynthia my dear, a heartfelt toast with a large pina colada has your name on it come August.

In celebration of her big event, a bunch of her friends met up in LA to have a girl's weekend. Here are some of us at her sister's place in LA.

I have to admit, I am a sucker for all things bachlorette. I love the veils, the tiaras, the favors...ok, mostly I love the inappropriate favors. It's about the only time you will see a doctor, two lawyers, and a couple PHDs sipping from some "manhood" straws. Did I mention Cynthia's friends are all crazy smart?

Anyways, after a creepy trip to an adult store (where I was the only chick NOT in the peep show behind the curtain), I picked up some favors, including some balloons, to help us celebrate. Here is Cynthia blowing up her balloon. Notice her sis Emily is already finished and tying it up. Nice job lady!

To prove I wasn't a total perv, I also brought some Sprinkles cupcakes for the tea party we had on Saturday morning. I figure a touch of Martha Stewart might make me seem more respectable. And then I noticed that the Sprinkles cupcakes on the left have nipples. Oh well, so much for respectable.

In addition to the plethora of sugary goodies provided, the tea party was made even sweeter by the fact that we did a clothing exchange. We all brought things we have stopped wearing out of our closet and were willing to trade. Having a very short attention span when it comes to fashion, I had a BUS LOAD of clothes. I was a newbie at the whole exchange thing, but have decided to become pro after seeing the piles of awesome clothes all the other girls wanted to trade. Plus, it was totally fun dressing up in random outfits. Here is our friend Marissa's interpretation of "Lady in Red."

After the tea party things got a little less "proper." We went to a pole-dancing lesson...yes.... like as in stripping. If you don't live in CA or NY, this probably seems like a weird thing. But it's becoming a legitimized form of exercise over here, and is WAY more fun than going to the gym. My abs and arms are still sore. Ok and the inside of my thighs are too from pole-burn, but it was all worth it!

Once there I just HAD to buy a pair of purple stripper shoes. I didn't think I will ever have an opportunity to wear them again, but dang they are fun. A small part of me is tempted to trek down to Albertsons in my "mom" khakis and Ann Taylor sweater set with the stripper shoes on just to see what the neighbors would say. The other part of me remembers that Noah is going to attend school here in a couple years....

For the sake of Noah's future embarassment, here's a video of me practicing an innocent spin. There are other videos, but some of them make me blush and I don't think my parents would be proud. Oh, and by the way mom, thanks for all the dance lessons when I was little, they made the pole dancing so much easier. And now I totally have something to fall back on (and the shoes too!). HAHA.

Thank you to Cynthia and Emily for making it all happen. I can't wait to show off our new moves at the wedding! You did say it was open bar, right? :P